Hi, I wondered if I could get thoughts on this. The Catalyst Athletics athletes make it look smooth, easy and seem to be able to complete the movement with speed! For the amateur it is one of those movements that can easily be filled with error and injury. Are there any specific skills, training cues, rules of thumb for this movement? I am seeing athletes partially push pressing the bar overhead, doing some sort of half moon just above their head to then bring the bar down onto their back. Is it simply a case of not doing more than you know you are capable of? Should you always be bringing the bar down onto the back of neck from full locked out position? Any suggestions/opinions would be appreciated. Thank you.

Basically it takes time to figure out the timing/rhythm to lower the bar to your traps while letting your legs bend to act like shock absorbers. I would add that you should aim for the traps instead of your neck, and that it may help to reach up on your toes to sort of meet the bar right as it is about to make contact with your traps. It took me quite a while to get the feel for lowering the bar early in my career, and I can vividly remember the bruising and torn skin...

Cath Pringle

05-13-2013 12:15 PM

Hi Mike,
Thanks very much for taking the time to reply and the article. When I said neck I certainly did mean traps! I guess when you are dealing with weights that a very close to your 1 RM there is room for things to end up less than perfect.

I would suggest starting with just the bar and working on trying to get that timing down. The big thing is meeting the bar in space and staying connected with it as you use your legs to absorb the force.